| ARM ships soft core for FPGAs |
Mar. 19, 2007
ARM is shipping its first-ever processor core designed for synthesis onto the programmable elements of FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays). The company hopes its "soft" Cortex-M1 processor will help device designers standardize on a single architecture for ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits), ASSPs (application specific standard parts), and FPGAs.
Additionally, ARM has announced that Irish FPGA vendor Actel has licensed the Cortex-M1, and will offer the processor at no charge to customers of its Fusion and ProASIC3 FPGAs. Configured with the M1 processor, these chips could cost as little as $5 apiece, and be capable of running uClinux at clock speeds up to about 75MHz, the companies said.
The M1
The M1 is the second of ARM's "M-series" processors to ship -- the first was the Cortex-M3, which launched in October of 2004.
ARM's M-series processors target cost-sensitive, deterministic, interrupt-driven applications. They are based on ARM's high-density 16-bit "Thumb-2" architecture with 32-bit extensions. Thumb-2 provides a sort of lowest common denominator instruction set for all of ARM's "Cortex" processors, in order to promote code reuse, scalability, and migration.
ARM hopes that by scaling its popular architecture down into FPGAs, it will help device makers save money by standardizing on a single set of development tools. Additionally, using an "industry standard processor" provides greater vendor independence, the company said.
Dominic Pajak, product manager of ARM's processor division, explained, "Thousands of engineers are familiar with ARM and its toolchains. ARM is vendor neutral, and we have a proven track record."
Actel FPGAs
Actel FPGA programming algorithms are implemented on-chip in non-volatile flash, rather than in external volatile SRAM memory, as with other FPGAs. According to Actel product manager Mike Thompson, this offers several inherent advantages. For one thing, "Non-volatile FPGAs do not use an external ROM; the parts are always programmed," Thompson notes.
Additionally, there is a security benefit. "ARM was very concerned about FPGA, because they knew that once they released it, they would have little control of who used it, and they were concerned about security. We showed them that we could protect their intellectual property," said Thompson.
The flash-based approach also offers power advantages. "In the SRAM parts, you get a large current spike until the part is programmed," Thompson explained.
Radiation tolerance is another touted benefit. However, Actel will not offer the M1 initially in its product lines targeting aerospace and defense.
Actel will support the M1 processors with a variety of freely downloadable tools, including its CoreConsole IP Deployment Platform, its SoftConsole program development environment, and Actel Libero Integrated Design Environment.
Availability
ARM's Cortex-M1 processor is available now. Actel will offer the M1 processor free with its Fusion and ProASIC3 FPGA lines.
ARM and Actel will demonstrate the technology running in Actel FPGAs at the Embedded Systems Conference in San Jose, Calif. Apr. 2-5.
Related Stories:
(Click here for further information)
|
|
|
FUEL Database on MontaVista Linux
Whether building a mobile handset, a car navigation system, a package tracking device, or a home entertainment console, developers need capable software systems, including an operating system, development tools, and supporting libraries, to gain maximum benefit from their hardware platform and to meet aggressive time-to-market goals.
Breaking New Ground: The Evolution of Linux Clustering
With a platform comprising a complete Linux distribution, enhanced for clustering, and tailored for HPC, Penguin Computing¿s Scyld Software provides the building blocks for organizations from enterprises to workgroups to deploy, manage, and maintain Linux clusters, regardless of their size.
Data Monitoring with NightStar LX
Unlike ordinary debuggers, NightStar LX doesn¿t leave you stranded in the dark. It¿s more than just a debugger, it¿s a whole suite of integrated diagnostic tools designed for time-critical Linux applications to reduce test time, increase productivity and lower costs. You can debug, monitor, analyze and tune with minimal intrusion, so you see real execution behavior. And that¿s positively illuminating.
Virtualizing Service Provider Networks with Vyatta
This paper highlights Vyatta's unique ability to virtualize networking functions using Vyatta's secure routing software in service provider environments.
High Availability Messaging Solution Using AXIGEN, Heartbeat and DRBD
This white paper discusses a high-availability messaging solution relying on the AXIGEN Mail Server, Heartbeat and DRBD. Solution architecture and implementation, as well as benefits of using AXIGEN for this setup are all presented in detail.
Understanding the Financial Benefits of Open Source
Will open source pay off? Open source is becoming standard within enterprises, often because of cost savings. Find out how much of a financial impact it can have on your organization. Get this methodology and calculator now, compliments of JBoss.
Embedded Hardware and OS Technology Empower PC-Based Platforms
The modern embedded computer is the jack of all trades appearing in many forms.
Data Management for Real-Time Distributed Systems
This paper provides an overview of the network-centric computing model, data distribution services, and distributed data management. It then describes how the SkyBoard integration and synchronization service, coupled with an implementation of the OMG¿s Data Distribution Service (DDS) standard, can be used to create an efficient data distribution, storage, and retrieval system.
7 Advantages of D2D Backup
For decades, tape has been the backup medium of choice. But, now, disk-to-disk (D2D) backup is gaining in favor. Learn why you should make the move in this whitepaper.
|
|
|
|
|
news feed